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Galilean Transformation

A transformation from one reference frame to another moving with a constant Velocity $v$ with respect to the first for classical motion. However, special relativity shows that the transformation must be modified to the Lorentz Transformation for relativistic motion. The forward Galilean transformation is

\begin{displaymath}
\left[{\matrix{t'\cr x'\cr y'\cr z'\cr}}\right]=\left[{\matr...
... 0 & 1\cr}}\right]\left[{\matrix{t\cr x\cr y\cr z\cr}}\right],
\end{displaymath}

and the inverse transformation is

\begin{displaymath}
\left[{\matrix{t\cr x\cr y\cr z\cr}}\right] =\left[{\matrix{...
... 1\cr}}\right]\left[{\matrix{t'\cr x'\cr y'\cr z'\cr}}\right].
\end{displaymath}

See also Lorentz Transformation




© 1996-9 Eric W. Weisstein
1999-05-25